Adventure Island, A Philippines Vacation
Adventure Island, A Philippines Vacation is the 11th episode of Game Theory on The Game Theorists. Description Deadly octopi, spitting snakes, bizarre fruit, and a war America has kept buried in its past all factor in this week as we pinpoint Hudson's ADVENTURE ISLAND. Transcript Slap on some sunscreen and break out your peeler, ‘cause we're getting fruity. Hello internet, and welcome to game theory. The show that's gonna put this game on the map, literally. This week we're gonna put this game on the map, literally. By the end, we'll see that this tropical romp is a key to unlocking a real, yet virtually unheard of, war in America's history. So enough pussyfooting around and let's do this. Now I'm a fan of hard games, old-school hard, Battletoads I want to be the guy, both on my top 10 list and man, the original Adventure Island is definitely in that league. Slippery controls, one-hit kills, lack of continues, memorization, glorious. You play as Master Higgins, a baseball cap, green short short wearin’ Joe Schmoe who's not afraid to let it all hang out, as he skateboards his way to rescuing his hot trophy girlfriend, Princess Leilani, whose name mysteriously changes to Tina in the end credits. Wait, did she just break off the ropes herself? Women, unacceptable! Anyway, Hudson Soft, the developers and publishers claim the setting of the game, this so-called island of adventure, is located in the South Pacific. I say, they need to retake world geography. Let's look at the gameplay. Like a lot of old platformers, this one doesn't let you daintily saunter through its gauntlet of snails, frogs, and jumping octopi, oh oh oh, no. You best be running your rotund self to the finish line before this bar runs out. What is it? It's a starvation meter. That's right. Unless Higgins is constantly stuffing fresh island fruit down his gullet every couple of seconds, he loses all will to live. And that's where we find our first clue: the local cuisine. Here are all the foodstuffs that appear in the game. We have bananas and, this could be an apple, or a cherry. This could be a tomato, or an apple. Let's just say that's a carrot, and, if Yoshi's Story was a waste of money, at the very least it taught me that those are melons. Oh, and there's coconuts hanging from the trees in the background. Coconuts and bananas are the most common in the game, so we're looking for a place that has a lot of both. Here are lists of the top five coconut and banana producing nations in the world. Comparing the lists, Brazil and India aren't islands leaving only the Philippines but is it, an island? Nowg, mind you, geography was always my worst subject in school, so this was a legitimate question. But for those of you playing at home, yes. Yes it is. However, never is it listed as part of the South Pacific. To make our case airtight, let's look at the rest of the pixilated produce. Carrots are listed as one of the most important vegetables found in the philippine highlands, so check there. As for the melon, see the pattern on it? That's because it's a netted melon, also called a nutmeg melon, a rock melon, a musk melon, or, most commonly, a cantaloupe. That said, does it exist in the Philippines? Normally, not so much, but a company named AgriNurture has created a new strain of cantaloupe, specifically in the Philippines. Called the honey melon, this super fruit thrives in tropical soil, produces more frequent and sweeter yields, and is resistant to pests. The fact that it's rarer also reflects it being the most prized fruit for Master Higgins in the game. Cherries and apples, normally need cooler climates to flourish, but, submitted for the approval of the game theory society, I give you, Manzanitas. Small trees spread throughout the Philippines that produce fruit the locals call Philippine cherries. As far as apples are concerned, check these out. They're called star apples for the star pattern in the pulp and yes, they grow in the Philippines. And to cover all our bases, if these poorly defined pixels happen to be a tomato, tomatoes rank second only to eggplant in production area in the country. Eggplant, which also makes an appearance in the game to suck the life out of our poorly protagonist. I don't know what it is about old NES games, but between this and Kid Icarus, it's no wonder that a generation of kids grew up not wanting to eat their veggies. “MatPat, Hudson Soft said the game is in the South Pacific!” True, but despite these oceanic nations producing some amount of coconut and banana, the rest of their crops are much more limited. Vanuatu, coconuts. Tuvalu, coconuts. Papua New Guinea, coffee, and coconuts. Tonga, squash, and coconuts. Micronesia, taro, and sweet potato. And it wouldn't be the first time an old NES game had errors in it, I mean, look at the game’s booklet. King Quiller as a final boss, no such enemy exists, so are we really going to trust their authority? But yes, you're right, fruit alone does not a meal make, it's only the garnish on this delicious entree of proof we're making, so let's look at some protein. We have red octopi, blue octopuses, some long thin fish that jumps out of the water to attack, and a fire spitting cobra. There’s also a generic bird, bat, and spider, but those guys appear in every game so who cares? Here's a video of a red octopus off the coast of the Philippines, so we know that they're around, but more interesting, and rare, is the blue octopus. Or should I say, the blue ringed octopus. The only species in the world that features the color blue. Found in the Pacific waters around, you guessed it, the Philippines. Despite being the size of a golf ball, they're one of the world's deadliest animals. They carry enough venom to kill 26 adult humans in 90 minutes. 10,000 times stronger than cyanide, and with no known antidote and imperceptible bites, it's no wonder Higgins dies in one hit from touching them. When it's in attack mode, the rings on its body change to a bright peacock blue. Wild! The long thin fish, looks a whole lot like a barracuda, and not only do they live in and around the Philippines, there's even a lake named after them, but most fitting of all, there have been reports of barracudas jumping out of the water to attack humans. Finally, the fire spitting cobra, is actually an exact match to the Philippine Cobra, a highly venomous breed of spitting snake found on the islands, and yes, you heard right, it's able to spit its venom up to ten feet. The fastest recorded death caused by a bite from these guys, 30 seconds. Not quite the instant kill featured in the game, but pretty darn close. So I feel safe in saying that between our flora and fauna, we have a good handle on the location of the game, but how does knowing that Adventure Island is located in the Philippines better our appreciation of this NES classic? Well that's, my final thought. Look at Master Higgins. Clearly a stereotypical American. Overweight, baseball cap, prone to shirtlessness, hot trophy wife who doesn't even know her own name. Now look at the villains of the game. All animals, or veggies, found on the island with the big boss being a voodoo wizard. So what? Well you've heard of the spanish-american war, right? How about the philippine-american war, beginning in 1899? One that took more lives, and cost more money. I hadn't. This is a much abbreviated overview, but during the U.S.’s imperialist days, after kicking the Spanish out of the Philippines, Americans lingered a little too long in the island that thought it had won its independence, realized that they had just changed owners. I propose, that Adventure Island is a symbolic representation of this struggle between the natural old way of life, and the dominating American influence. That's why all your enemies are nature themed, but if you really don't believe me, consider this. After winning the war, American settlers develop the land, using the rich soil to start huge tropical plantations. For workers, they hired the local Filipinos. Don't you find it odd that the American heroes name in Adventure Island is Master Higgins? What kind of a name is master, or is it a title given to a plantation owner? An American plantation owner, in the Philippines. I'll let you be the judge, but hey, it's a theory. A game theory. Thanks for watching. Trivia * This is the first theory on an indie game. * There was a bingo card in the video, with each square about things Game Theory-related. Near the end of the video, for "those were playing along", MatPat gave the correct answer for the bingo sheet. * In the week of the video's release, Game Theory was the User Movie of the Week on GameTrailers for the second time. Category:The Game Theorists videos Category:2011 videos Category:Game Theory Category:Adventure Island Category:GT July 2011